Cross Campus: 12.7.12

School’s out! Almost. Reading period begins at 5:30 p.m. today, but remember that it only lasts until Wednesday this year. You can start cramming now.

On a break. After three consecutive terms, the popular seminar co-taught by Provost Peter Salovey will be taking a break from Yale. Called “Great Big Ideas,” the seminar will return in spring 2014 and be co-taught by current Dean of Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel, who will take Salovey’s teaching spot when the moustached administrator becomes president.

Dream big. Members of student group Net Impact convened on Cross Campus yesterday as part of their “Make an Impact” campaign, during which organizers asked passers-by to write down their dreams on Post-it notes and pop balloons to “make an impact.” Participants were then asked to replace their popped balloon with their Post-it note. More than 250 passers-by took part in the effort.

Hitting the books. Two recent releases by Yale Law School professors John Fabian Witt ’94 LAW ’99 GRD ’00 and Akhil Reed Amar ’80 LAW ’84 were named to the 2012 best books list of two major newspapers. Witt’s book was named to The New York Times’ notable books list, while Amar’s was named to The Washington Post top books list for nonfiction works.

Spotted. Former Dean of Jonathan Edwards College and newly appointed Dean of Yale-NUS Kyle Farley was seen hanging around the JE dining hall yesterday afternoon. The former college administrator announced he would step down in September 2011 to oversee curricula and help with student recruitment at Academies Australasia, an educational group in Australia.

Midnight train. Elm City residents have started a social media petition urging New Haven officials to increase the number of Metro-North trains that stop at the State Street train station, which currently serves only a handful of Metro-North trains. As of yesterday, the petition collected 164 signatures.

Crossing borders. Student group Reach Out, which organizes student-led spring break trips to foreign nations for service projects, received a record number of applications this year. Though Reach Out typically collects 100 to 150 applications, the group received 300 applications this year for its nine service trips.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1971 Three faculty groups support a calendar change that would set Sept. 5 as the first day of school and schedule final examinations before winter break.